Imprinter plate rack



Feb. 17, l1959 1 T, GATES 2,873,859

` IMPRINTER PLATE RACK J. `T. GATS 2,873,859

' IMPRINTER PLATE. RACK Feb. 17, 1959 Filed Jan. 16, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet. 2

l5 .7 k-s INVENToR. ./Qm e 5 7.' G O/ /es United States APatent C)w This invention relates to a special r'aclcdesi'gned` to hold embossed imprinter plates and plate frames, which are used in a small hand-type printing machine of a special type. The purpose served by the rack isy to provide a' storage .'pl'a'ce or systematic tiling arrangement whereby numerous imprinter plates can be centrally kept in 'a logical order for ready accessible usey and reference.

The need for the rack was made imperative when my new copyrighted system of streamlining hospital paperwork was introduced- This new hospital paperwork sys'- t-em employsv an imprinter which uses embossed plates similarto thosefoundin many department storesgfwhere they are used in conjunction with a charge plate addressing imprinter system. The imprinter, specially designed for hospital use, however, has distinct and separate fea.'- tures, `which is an invention in itself and is not a part of the considerations of this disclosure. The embossed plates referred to in this invention are usually inserted into a standard size plateholder known in the art as a frame and will be referred to as such in the explanatory matter of this invention. v

An object of this invention is to provide a rack having a grooved inclined plane into which numerous imprinter plates can be placed. The inclined plane, as well as the Figurel is a perspective view of a rack constructed in accordance withthe features of my'invent'ion.

grooved slots, are set at such an angle that captions appeering on the plates can be seen easily when the rack is placed on a desk of conventional height and the viewer is seated at the desk.

AnotherA object of the present invention is to provide a series of grooves or slots in the inclined top section of the rack designed in such a manner that the imprinter plate frames will catch and hold secure, so that ordinary desk vibration or jarring will not dislodge them from the rack. Yet, on the other hand, 'the slots allow sucient freedom and play in order that the plate frames can be lifted out of the rack `slots with ease and without interference. v

A further objective of this invention is to provide a sectional top 4for the rack, so that added plate slots can be provided as the need increases. Each section is a separate but integral part of the rack when assembled and contains a fixed number of plate slots per section.

Still another objective of this invention is to provide two parallel sets of slots, in the sectional top of the rack, which are side-by-side and spaced at a fixed distance apart horizontally along the upwardly extending inclined surface of the rack so as to provide ya space between the sets for indicia designating each slot, as, for instance, with the number of a hospital room. In a preferred use of the device, the frames in each set might represent the rooms respectively on one side of a hallway. The spacing of the slots in each set is such that they correspond to exact multiples of conventional typewriter spacing of two-thirds of an inch, where the indicia are to be typed.

Further objects of the present invention and certain practical advantages will be referred to in, or will be evident from, the following description of the invention and the accompanying drawings, in which:

1 Figure 2 is a front elevation of onel of the sectionsof the rack of Fig. l showing in cut-away view the threaded screw holey mounting bosses. Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3,-3` of Figure 2 with one frame in place.

Figure 4 is a fragmental top plan view taken from the position of the line 4-4 of Fig. 2` showing vframes in the slots of the rack. f

- TheV rack, of which the top section may be made of molded material or hardwood, is used to store imprinter plates when they are not in immediate use. Thev platesy a-re used in any one of a number of imprinters designed for the purpose of making a printed impression from an embossed or typed master plate. Although these racks are used chieil'y at nursing and clinical stations Vin hospitals, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to this use only, as these racks may be adapted to systems employed in other `business classi'-,

cations: also.

- This rack plays a delinite part. of a system in processing f paperwork where imprinters and embossing plates are used4 to imprint a specified number ofl captions. When used in connection with hospital paperwork systems, the'A racl' f holds an rembossed plate foreach patient assigned 'to' ffgiven nursing station. When paperwork requiring such captions as a patients name; address, date, attend#y ing physician, etc.,I is needed,l the plate i'sremoved from back in the rack for storage until the next time it is v needed. As twenty or more pieces of paperwork are usually imprinted for each patient at odd times during his stay at the hospital, it can readily be understood that thisY rack provides a definite need in simplifying a paperwork system where such imprinters are used.

As seen in Figure l and Figure 2, the top inclined plate 1 is attached to the metal, wooden or molded base 2. Several sections, as indicated by the number of slots in Figure 3, are used to make up the entire top section, as shown in Figure 1. When the top sections are in place, being attached to the base by screws 16, a clear plastic shield 3 is fastened over the top sections to provide a protected space for a lslot identification card 4 bearing indicia 4'. The plate frame 5, which provides the necessity for the invention, has a vertical ange 6 at each end of the frame. A groove 7 separates each set of the frame Vsupports 8 from the card identification pedestal 9. These grooves are recessed below the bottom surfaces of the slots 10 so that when the plate frame 5 is positioned back at an angle against inclined wall 17, the anges 6 will not strike bottom, but are provided with a hooking corner for the flanges 6 of the frames. This feature prevents the frames from jarring out of their slots due to normal vibration or accidental jarring of the rack.

Referring to Figure 3, it can be seen that the bottom of the section 1 is on an angle 11, preferably about 20 to the horizontal, so that the sections will tit on the inclined so that the plate frame will be positioned back at a slight angle for visual convenience. The last frame support of this lsection has a perpendicular back 12 so that successive sections can be placed with their vertical fronts 12' flush with the back wall 12 of preceding sections which make up the rack top. The front of each section 1 is started with a slot land 10, so that a completev slot is formed when one section is butted against the back wall of an- Patented F eb. 1 7, 1959 other section. vided with appropriate wall thickness 13 by the routed under cavity of the section. Six screw holes 14 are formed in the section v1, as shown, to provide a means of attaching each section to the base 2. The identiti-V cation pedestal 9 is at a slightly lower level than the height of the slot sides so that when the card shield 3 is screwed in place, the shield is ush with the entire top surface of the rack. n

In Figures 2 and 4 it can be seen more clearly that the separation space 7 permits ample room for locking the plate frame iianges 6 on the end edges of the frame supports. A screw hole 15 and under supporting boss, not shown, provides a means of attaching the cardv ,identiiication shield 3. Screw holes 14 are shown in cutaway positions of the front section, which furnish three front and three comparable rear screw holes for attaching the section 1 to the base 2.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim is new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A rack for holding a plurality of frames comprising two sets of parallel frame supports defining frame holding slots between them, said supports positioned with each support progressively higher from front to rear of said rack, said supports providing lan approximately vertical wall at` the front of each slot and a rear wall of each slot inclined upwardly and rearwardly, each slot having a land at the bottom between supports of a width to snugly receive a frame, the walls and bottom` lof a slot dened by said supports in one set being coplanar with like parts deiined by supports in the other set, a raised Lightening of the entire section is pro-` "4 v fr ,lE l! strip extending from front to rear of said rack between said sets of frame supports, and a groove provided in said rack along each side of said strip and between said strip and said sets of frame supports, said grooves being deeper than the bottom lands of said slots, whereby to hold flanged frames tilted rearwardly with their anges engaged in said grooves, said front and rear rack walls being vertical, said rear rack wall being in the plane of one of said front walls of a slot, said front rack wall lying in a plane which includes the forward edge of one of said lands, whereby two racks may be assembled with the front rack wall of one abutting the rear rack wall of another to provide a continuous uniform rack.

2. The combination of claim 1 including a base, said base having a depth from front to rear suicient to receive at least two racks in abutting relationship one back of the other, said base having a top surface inclined rearwardly and upwardly' at an angle, each of said racks having top and bottom surfaces inclined rearwardly and upwardly at said same angle, and means of securing a plurality of said racks to said top surface of said base, and the racks being secured in abutting relationship one back of the other.

References Cited in the file of this patent 

